Automatic glare shield control



Aug. 19, 1952 v. s. SANG v 2,607,906

AUTOMATIC GLARE SHIELD CONTROL Filed Dec. 6, 1948 2 Sl-IEETS-Sl-EET 1 I l 2 I 3 254 7 Z I 6 1% 1 [g 'T/-/ /0' In U9 i TIL Z3 0 Aug. 19, 1952 v, s, S N 2,607,906

AUTOMATIC GLARE SHIELD CONTROL Filed Dec. 6, 1948 v ZSHEETS-SHEE'I 2 the-line 22 of Fig.1;

Patented Aug. 19, 1952 iU NIT'E-D .,.TSTAT ES :QFJFZIXC'E .QAUTOMATIC. .GLARE SHIELD 1 GONTRQL Victor= ,S..;Sang, 1\Iinneapolis,-Minn.

;g;App licationDecember 6, 1948,"SeriaIYNO-"63QZ13 ,4 Glaims.

'flviminvention relates-.1120;improvements in. .an ii-high :beams' of the?lightskareuagain put into opaeration. a

Theprimary object-ct mylinvention is the provision of "means wh'ereby such automatic-controlled-glare shields may? :be manually placed or retainednn operative position, either-when said I-lightcircuitsare-onor on. p

- -A stillfurther and -lii'gh'ly important object of rmy invention the-provision of means, whereby i to {and fromi operative positions isautomatically 7 *theelectric motora'for moving the glare shield :rendered -inope'rativewhen the glade shield is manually locked in operative position.

Another important objectof-my invention is :th-e provision of such" a device which is relatively simple and inexpensivato construct; easy to install, and-relative lyjtroublefree in use.

"-The" above and still further objects-of -my inventionwillbecome-apparent from the following detailed-specification,- appended claims, andattached drawings. g v

Referring to-the drawings wherein like charactersindicate-like parts throughout the several *viewsz' i lis-a-r'ear view army 'deviceiristalledon a vehicle and 1 showing -'the+ anti-glare shield in its "operative position;

'wFigi -2 is an ehlar-ged vertieal section; t'a-ken on V 3-is aview-corresponding-to Fig. Zbutshow- --ingadifierent-position-of= someof the parts;

Fig; 5 4 "is a horizontal section, takensubstantially on thelin 4- 5 of 3;

"Figi 5 -isa-- view-partly in side-elevation and partly-in section; -taken substantially on-the line of Fig; 4; I Fig. 6isa transverse se'ctionfitaken substani'tially on the-line 6- 6 of-Figv 5;

Fig; -7- isa fragmentary-detail; partly in plan and partly in section,""taken o1r thfline; 7-1-1 of "Fig; 5 and v 'ii' f 8; i 'anJ leetifie l' wirin dia ram, of..the li ht n system of a hea lishmequipnedv in. .whichrny novel device .is interposed.

drawings, the numeral I indicates. ,a windshield the framel' by. any suitable means,sucnas a screw. clamp 3, is an v elongatedtubular frame ,member or housing 4, the opposite ends .of-.vvhich are closed by cup-likeend plates 5 and 6. I --Within thetubularframe member .4 and ad- .ja-eentthe crap-5 is an annular solenoid coil -'I mounted on a ,metal spool tr Mounted for reciprocatingmovements within 7 the annular sole- .-noid coil I is metallic. plunger 9 havinga reqduced'neck l0. :Plunger ,9-is adaptedto stop v5 by a bracket I3 which; extends -therebetween against an -electromagnetic core 'I I which is riveted totheend plate 5, asindicated at l 2. The solenoid coil-l-is heldsfast against the. endplate and the end; cap or plateg-S andis s ecured to the end platei'fi =by-means of screws'or the like It. l ly the -e1ements .=;8 a comprise-amecipro-cating-type-of electric-motor.

. J urna ledri t e rac e I 3 ande e dingl tupper encl ofthe arm 15 is bentaroundzthe shaft l5-andc1 mped th reto y meansof screws-or the like I7. .Looseningof the screws IT will. permit axialymovementoof therarm 116 on;.the shaft l5 'ZfOI a:-purpose whichwillh-ereinafterbecome ap- "tparent. :An, I antirglare: Shield 18,. preferably rec- .tangular inrform, .;is rigidly secured bymeans of :nutrequipped boltsorthe-like l9,;to thearm .IB

.:and.may bepmade fr.om,:a. colored transparent -.mat.erial suchuasCelluloid ortheilike. iAs illus- -..trated, in Figs; 1 .and. 8. and .by broken: lines :in :Fig.. 2,- thelanti-glare shield .l 8, in .its operative position,i is located in the. fieldof vision of the vehicle operator. tPartial rotationof the-shaft l5 ina counterclockwise direction with: respect to 'fFigS; 2.; and" 3:..wi1l move lthe anti-glare shield l8 :toan inoperative position out ofthe fieldof vision of the vehicle operator, :as indicated-by broken .lines in :Fig; 3. Rotation of shaft I 5' isaccomplished by mechanism now tobe described.

Asegmentalgeafl 0 =issecured-fast to the shaft I 5 within the frameliand has meshing engagement :with a relatively large segmental gear Z l fast on a shaftzz-journalled in the bracket-13in spaced parallel 'relationship to-the shaft 1 5. Gear. segment. 2| is provided with a. radially projecting 25. A coil tension spring 26 has one end connected to the extreme outer end of arm 23 and its other end secured to a nut-acting plate 21. Plate 21 is screw-threaded to receive a screw 28 projecting inwardly through the end plate 6 and is held against rotation by engagement of one side edge thereof with the frame or housing 4 (see particularly Figs. 2, 3, 5, and 6). Tension of the spring 25 is varied by manipulation of the adjusting screw 28 and is sufiicient to impart limited rotary movement to the shaft I through gear segments 20 and 2| to raise the anti-glare shield [8 from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3 when solenoid l is de-energized. On the other hand, when solenoid 1 is energized, plunger 9 moves toward contact with core overcoming bias of the spring 26 and rotating shaft |'5 in a clockwise direction with respect to Figs. 2 and 3, whereby to bring the anti-glare shield l8 into its operative position in the field of vision of the vehicle operator.

Referring to Fig. 8, it will be seen that one end of solenoid coil 1 is grounded as indicated at 29. Preferably, this grounding is effected through the frame 4 and the windshield frame I of the body of the vehicle. A lead 30 connects solenoid coil 1 with a manually-operated switch 3|, shown as being contained within a switch housing 32 in the frame I. A single lead 33 connects switch 3| with the low beam headlight circuit of the vehicle which comprises low beam filaments 34 grounded at 35, leads 36 and 31 connecting filaments 34 to a high-low beam switch 38, a lead 39, and a battery 40 grounded as indicated at 4|. A conventional off-on switch 42 is interposed in the lead 39 and is usually located on the instrument panel of the vehicle. The switch 38 is adapted to connect high beam filaments 43 to the battery 40 through lead 33 and leads 44 and 45. Filaments 34 and 43 are contained in conventional headlight bulbs 45.

During travel of the vehicle on a highway with the headlights 46 in operation through the high beam circuit, no electrical current will be supplied to the solenoid coils 1. Under these circumstances, anti-glare shield l8 will be held in its inoperative position of Fig. 3 by the spring 26. However, when the vehicle approaches another vehicle, the operator moves the switch 38 to open the circuit to the high beam filaments 43 and close the circuit to the low beam filaments 34. Closing of this circuit energizes solenoid coil 1 through leads 30 and 33 and closed switch 3|. Energization of the solenoids causes the plunger 9 to move inwardly toward the core thus rotating shaft l5 in a direction to swing the antiglare shield |8 into its operative position of Figs. 1, 2, and 8 against bias of the spring 26.

At times, the operator of the vehicle may be desirous of maintaining the anti-glare shield H3 in its lowered operative position when driving with high beam illumination. Therefore, I provide manually-operated means for locking the glare shield l8 in its lowered operative position as follows: A cam 41 is mounted for common rotation on a shaft 43 coupled to the switch 3| and closely adjacent a turning knob 49. A lever 50 is pivoted intermediate its ends to the bracket I 3 as indicated at 5|, has one end thereof projecting laterally outwardly through an opening 52 in the frame 4, and terminates in a foot 53 which is adapted to be engaged by cam 41. The opposite end 50' of lever 50 underlies the shaft l5 and is adapted to engage a radially-projecting shoulder or abutment 54 on a collar 55 secured fast to the shaft l5. A leaf spring 56 has one end secured fast to the bracket |3 as at 51, the free end thereof exerting yielding bias on the lever 50 toward engagement with the cam 41 and the abutment 54 on the collar 55. Cam 41 is so positioned on the shaft 48 with respect to the switch 3| that, when cam 41 engages the foot 53 of lever 50, switch 3| will be closed. When it is desired to lock shield |8 in its operative position in the field of vision of the. operator, knob 43 is turned to openthe switch 3| and disengage the cam 41 from the foot 53 of the lever 50. Lever 50 is then moved under bias of spring 56 to bring the end 50' thereof into engagement with the collar 55. Manual movement of the shield l8 to its operative position will rotate the shaft l5 to a point where the abutment 54 is engaged by the end 50 of lever 50 against bias of tension spring 26. The shield H3 is thereby locked in operative position and may be released by turning knob 49 to a point Where switch 3| is closed and cam 41 engages the foot 53 of lever 50 whereby to move the inner end 50 out of engagement with the abutment 54 and permit bias of the spring 26 to automatically raise the. shield IE to its inoperative position.

The size of shield I8 is such as to adequately shield the operators eyes from direct rays of the headlights of an approaching car but not to interfere with visibility on the right hand side of the road. The shaft I5 is of a length to permit lateral adjustment of the shield NZ to provide the greatest protection for the operator. In fact, by loosening the screw clamp 3, the entire device may be shifted longitudinally of the windshield 2 to the most advantageous position thereon.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that I have provided a simple and effective mechanism for accomplishing the objects set forth; and, while I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my device, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an automotive vehicle having high and low beam headlight circuits and a selector switch for selectively connecting said circuits to a source of electrical energy, an anti-glare apparatus comprising, a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, a glare shield secured to said shaft and movable therewith into and out of operative position in the field of vision of the operator, a solenoid motor on said frame, said solenoid motor comprising fixed movable elements and being operatively connected to the low beam circuit whereby to be energized by the closing of said circuit. means for connecting the movable element of said solenoid motor to said shaft for imparting limited rotary movements thereto, spring means biasing said shield toward inoperative position, an abutment on said shaft, a lever pivoted in said frame and having a portion movable into and out of the path of travel of said abutment, a manually-operated cam element cooperatively associated with the lever to move the latter to a position out of the path of travel of the abutment and releasably retain the same in such position, and yielding means biasing said lever toward operative engagement with said cam element and said abutment.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 infurther combination with switch means operatively associated with said cam element for disconnecting said solenoid motor from said low beam circuit when said cam element is in a position to allow the lever to be moved by said yielding means to a position in the path of travel of the abutment.

3. A supporting structure adapted to be mounted on an automotive vehicle adjacent the windshield thereof, a shaft journalled in said supporting structure, a glare shield secured to said shaft and movable therewith into and out of operative position, a solenoid coil on said supporting structure, a magnetically responsive plunger mounted for reciprocation in said solenoid coil, means connecting the plunger to said shaft for imparting limited rotary movement to the shaft responsive to axial reciprocatory motion of the plunger, a spring biasing the shield toward its inoperative position, an abutment on said shaft, a lever pivoted in said supporting structure and having a portion movable into and out of the path of travel of said abutment, a manually-operated cam element-operatively associated with the lever to move the latter to a position out of the path of travel of the abut- 2 toward operative engagement with said abutment.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 in further combination with a switch controlling energization of the solenoid coil, and a common control means for the switch and said cam element moving the switch to a position to deenergize the solenoid coil when the cam is moved thereby to a position wherein the lever is in the path of travel of the abutment.

VICTOR, S. SANG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,013,560 Hacker Sept. 3, 1935 2,134,414 Norcross Oct. 25, 1938 2,223,710 Wiederhold Dec. 3, 1940 2,237,579 Ronning Apr. 8, 1941 

